July, 2009 | The Baseball Zealot

Scully to retire after 2010 season

Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully has given his notice

"God willing, I will probably come back for one more year," Scully said in a phone interview. "At this moment, my health is excellent, and I’m leaning toward one more year."

And then retire?

"Yes, that makes sense," he said..

The last of a dying breed. A broadcaster who can call a game by himself and not sound boring. His secret, in my opinion? He doesn’t feel it necessary to fill up every second with inane blather.

The Dodgers have a year and half with him. Enjoy these last few months and when he leaves, send him off the right way. He is a treasure to the sport of baseball.

Would Sandberg want Rose on his staff? You bet he would.

Cubs minor league manager and uber-legend Ryne Sandberg came out publicly in support of re-instating Pete Rose back into baseball. He went as far as to say he wouldn’t mind having him on his coaching staff.

I know Sandberg is just talking out his –ss but who knows? And with rumors of re-instatement surfacing once again, Pete might remember those words.

And unless things change for Sandberg, that would make Pete Rose a Cub.

Generally, I’m favor of re-instating Pete Rose back into baseball but I’m not THAT ready.

Indians Get 4 for 2 from Phils

donald Cliff Lee was involved in one of the best trades the Indians ever pulled off, when he was traded from the Expos, along with Grady Sizemore, & Brandon Phillips. Now Cleveland is hoping lightning strikes twice, swapping Lee & Ben Francisco to Philadelphia for four top notch prospects.

Jason Donald looked great when I saw him this past year in the Arizona Fall League. He’s pretty much hit .300 every year in the minors, except for 2009, the Indians are hoping he regains his stroke.

Lou Marson is a line drive hitting catcher. I’ve seen Marson in the AFL & spring training, his average has climbed as he’s matured, batting around .300 in AA & AAA ball.

Carlos Carrasco had a breakout season in 2006 in A ball, 12-6, 2.26 ERA, 103 hits in 159′ IP, with 159 K’s. While he’s maintained about one strikeout per inning, his ERA is currently 5.18 in Triple A.

At 6’5″ 225 Jason Knapp, a 19 year old righthander out of New Jersey, can really bring it, striking out well over one batter per inning in Rookie & A ball.

This trade just might turn out to be exactly what both teams need, the Phillies, trying to repeat, get a tough lefthanded starter in Lee and a solid righthanded hitting outfielder in Francisco, in exchange for four top prospects. Donald is a scrappy player, who might be at SS next year in Cleveland, with Marson flashing the signals to Carrasco, with Knapp warming in the bullpen, you never know.

Speedsters with low OBP

sicampy

Let’s take a look at stolen bases and on base percentage.

Here are the players with the lowest OBP with at least 50 stolen bases in a single season.

OBP SB

1 Bert Campaneris .278 52 1972 2 Vince Coleman .285 50 1994 3 Omar Moreno .292 60 1982 4 Miguel Dilone .294 50 1978 5 Omar Moreno .295 53 1977 6 Bert Campaneris .297 55 1967 7 Jose Reyes .300 60 2005 8 Mookie Wilson .300 54 1983 9 Vince Coleman .301 107 1986 10 Bert Campaneris .302 62 1969

This list is rife of leadoff men (I’m going on memory but I’m pretty sure they all led off for their respective teams) but still couldn’t get the job done when came to getting on base.

They say you can’t steal first base but from a stat point of view, what these guys was pretty amazing (if not self-serving, see #9). These men got on base some 30% of the time (plus errors etc) yet still managed to steal an ungodly amount of bases.

If you think Bert Campaneris is over-represented in this list, check out the full list. Campy comes up #11, too.

No, you can’t steal first base but when these guy DID get on, you could be pretty sure you had a man on second by the next batter.

Illini football at Wrigley Field??

There aren’t a lot of details but Wrigley Field may be the home of future Northwestern-Illinois football games.

Both teams have been in talks working out the finer points. The soonest it could happen would be the 2010 season, according to the Big Ten Network. Illinois football coach Ron Zook favors the idea.

It wouldn’t be the first time football was played at Wrigley. The Chicago Bears played there up until 1970. This video clip shows the Bears coming out of the locker room when they played at the Friendly Confines.

Temper, temper, temper: Mets’ exec Bernazard axed

Last week, Jim Leyland took off his shirt and was called ‘sexy’.

In a totally different set of circumstances, Tony Bernazard took off his shirt and will be fired.

Bernazard, who was the Mets’ VP of player of player development, was fired after he lost his temper more than once. One incidence occurred in the Binghamton Mets clubhouse where he took his shirt off and challenged the players there to a fight. Tony B also got into it with Mets’ reliever Francisco Rodriguez.

I don’t think the Mets can take any more “development”.

Bernazard, 52, has had the position with the Mets since late 2004. He played in majors as an infielder from 1979-1991.

MLB announces 2010 All-Star logo

Wasting no time, MLB has come out with logos for the 2010 All-Star game that will be held in Angel Stadium:

Via The Biz of Baseball:

The official logo of Major League Baseball’s 2010 All-Star Game features a red dimensional star encircled by the silver halo of the Angels. The beveled star serves as an icon that represents the showcase of Major League Baseball’s finest talent. The unique typography of the 81st Midsummer Classic also reflects the dimensional beveling inspired by the host Club.
“Major League Baseball is pleased that the 2010 All-Star Game will be hosted by the Angels, one of the model franchises of our sport,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “The enduring success of the Angels under Arte Moreno both on and off the field is remarkable. I am thrilled that the 2010 All-Star Game will spotlight a Club that embodies Major League Baseball’s commitment to providing affordable, family entertainment.”

10 things ESPN TV doesn’t need

My list of ten things that ESPN could get rid of and would make me a happier (and more attentive) viewer:

NASCAR
Spelling bees (as much as I enjoy them)
Poker Tournaments
Sports demagogues for analysts/broadcasters (I was going to name names but this about covers it)
Talk shows with the word Damn in them
Diamond-cams and the like
In-game interviews with the managers/coaches/etc
ANY talk show show where decibel level is louder than the street work being done outside.
Dog shows (again, I can enjoy them especially when I watch them with my 9 year old daughter… just please, not on a premier sport network)
Chris Berman, (I lied in #4.)

What’s on your list?

more robot baseball

If Cubs pitchers keep getting hurt, here’s a solution… baseball robots.

These robots are the creation of a Japanese (of course) professor Masatoshi Ishikawa who is from the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo.

The pitching robot throws at 25 mph and hits the strike zone close to 90% of the time. Ishikawa hopes to increase the pitch speed to 90mph. He also wants to introduce the curve ball to the robot. Hey now, be careful of those arm injuries!

Lucky Ump

MLB Umpire Eric Cooper has had his share of Buehrle’s noteworthy pitching efforts.

How’s this for strange? (Umpire Eric) Cooper has been behind the plate for each of Buehrle’s last three shutouts — the perfect game Thursday, the no-hitter April 18, 2007, at U.S. Cellular Field against the Texas Rangers and a 6-0 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 17, 2005, at the Cell.

Hope Mark Buehrle isn’t superstitious… he might start putting in requests for Cooper for his future starts.